Note: Although IBus uses a daemon, it is not the sort of daemon managed by the DAEMONS array in /etc/rc.conf: it runs as an ordinary user and will be started for you when you login.

Note: If, however, ibus is not autostarted upon login, then move the “export …” lines above to $HOME/.xprofile instead, and append this line to the same file: “ibus-daemon -drx”, and relogin your desktop.

You will then see a configuration screen; you can access this screen whenever IBus is running by right-clicking the icon in the system tray and choosing "Preferences". See Configuration.

If IBus doesn't work in Qt/KDE applications, ensure that the ibus-qt library is installed and define IBus as the default IME in the Qt configuration editor:

$ qtconfig

In "Interface" -> "Default Input Method", select ibus instead of xim.

Configuration

Ibus

Note: You need to have East Asian fonts installed if you want to enter Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese characters.

The default "General" settings should be fine, but go to "Input Methods" and select your input method(s) in the drop down box, then press "Add". You can use multiple input methods if you wish.
Once IBus is set up, you can press Ctrl+Space to use it (multiple times to cycle through available input methods). IBus will remember which input method you are using in each window, so you will have to reactivate it for each new window. You can override this behavior by right clicking the system tray icon, selecting "Preferences", and going to the "Advanced" tab.

Ibus-rime

Installation

If you have decided to use the great ibus-rime IME, here are some help to install it and to configure it.

Tips and tricks

Pinyin usage

First type the pinyin (sans tones) for the characters you wish to enter.

Press Up and Down repeatedly to select a character (going on to the next page if necessary).

Press Space to use a character.

You can also use PageUp or PageDown to scroll pages, and use the number keys 1-5 to select the character you need.

You can enter multiple characters that form a word or phrase at a time (such as "zhongwen" to enter "中文"). ibus-pinyin will remember which characters you type most frequently and over time make suggestions that are more tuned to your typing profile.

Troubleshooting

Kimpanel

IBus main interface is currently only available in GTK, but Kimpanel provides a native Qt/KDE input interface. The package kdeplasma-addons-applets-kimpanel is compiled to support ibus, but ibus needs to be launched as following to be able to communicate with the panel:

$ ibus-daemon --xim --panel=/usr/lib/kde4/libexec/kimpanel-ibus-panel

To get a menu entry for launching ibus this way, save the following file to ~/.local/share/applications/ibus-kimpanel.desktop

Then you can either let KDE autostart ibus, or set it as the input method application in Kimpanel, and manually click on the kimpanel icon to start it. In either case, choose Utility/Ibus (Kimpanel) in the Choose Application dialog.

rxvt-unicode

If anyone has any issues with iBus and rxvt-unicode, the following steps should solve it.

Add the following to your .Xdefaults (possibly not required -- try first without):

URxvt.inputMethod: ibus
URxvt.preeditType: OverTheSpot

And start ibus with:

ibus-daemon --xim

If you start ibus-daemon automatically (e.g. in ~/.xinitrc or ~/.xsession) but used to use `ibus-daemon &' without the `--xim' option, make sure to kill the existing process before testing the new command.

GTK applications

Some users have had problems using Input Methods with GTK applications, because it seems that the gtk.immodules file can't be found. Adding